Aerial top.



'B; 8* BENJAMIN.

AERIAL TOP.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12.1914. Patented Mar. 26,

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AERIAL TOP.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12. I914.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

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REUBEN B. B NJAMIN, or onrcneo, rumors, assrenon TO BENJAMIN-setter. I rac'ru'anveoomrerw, or onreneo, ILLINOIS, a eonrom'rron or .rLLINoI's.

RIAL TOP. 1

1T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I REUBEN B. BENJAMIN,

' a citizen of .the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and. State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Im rovements in' Aerial Tops, of which the fol owing-is a full, clear, concise, and exact descript on, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this I specification.

My invention relates to improvements in aerial tops.-

Some of the obj ects of my invention are to provide -a device of this character which will have increased efiiciency, which will be provided with a safety feature and which wlll have automatic meansfor restoring a manually actuated driving member to its or1g1. nal position. Further. objects w1ll appear from the detailed description to follow.

- For the purpose of disclosing my inven tion 111m illustrated several embodiments thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the modifications of m deviceshowing the top f f stars in place in the hol er;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9--9 of Fig.

6, showin the drum inclosin shell; and .Fig. 10 1s a side elevation 0 another modification of my device in which the rotatable 1 holder is'returned bymeans of an endles elastic band. I

Referrin now to the drawings in detail,

reference c aracter 10 indicates the top as a whole mounted in a rotatablewholder and drivingm'ember ,11',-which latter is rotatably mounted in a U-shaped frame 12. The top comprises a spindle portion 13 and a rotor or'propieller 14. .The spindle 13 has an elongated Speciflcation of Letters Patent. Application filed October 12, 1914. Serial No. 866,304.

uh portion 15 through which is:in-

\ Patented Mar.261913.

serted a pin 16. Thehub 15 has a reduced portion 17 extending through a central opening in the ropeller 14, the propeller being secured to t e hub portion by means of a cap 18 held in place by a screw 19. The propel- Ier has a plurality of inclined blades or wings 20 struck up therefrom and it is also provided with a down-turned skirt or flange 21.

The holder 11 comprises a cup shaped portion 22- and a sleeve portion 23. The cup 22 has a jpair of notches 24 on opposite sides thereo said notches having aslightly overflanging edge 25, as shown in Figs. 1 and l, for a purpose to appear hereinafter; 7

e The sleeve 23 extends through openings 24; and 25 in the bent-over ends 26 and 27 of the U-ShapedJframe 12. The end 27 is secured to one armof the frame 12 in any suitable manner as by rivetin or soldering. The sleeve 23 is fianged over elow the bent over end 27 as shown'at 28 to retain the sleeve inplace. A cord. 29 is secured to the sleeve 23 by inserting it through an opening 1 30 therein and tyinga knot 31 at the end of the cord as shown in Fig. 1, after which the cord is rawn u ,to a position in which the knot is inside 0 the sleeve 23.

The use and operation of this modification of my device is as follows:

The cord 29 iswound in the proper direction on the sleeve 23 either by rotating the holder 1-1 directly or by placing the top in the holder and rotating the top in the proper direction. The cord 1s then given a quick pull causing the holder and top to rotate rapidly. When the cord is all unwound from the sleeve 23 the holder 11 comes to a stop, but the top rides out of the holder; the pm16 riding up the sides of the notches 24:, the inclination of the blades 20 causing the spindle to be lifted from the holder and causing the top to rise in the air. After the top descends it .will continue to spin for some time. The purpose of making the edge 25 slightly over-hang'the pin is to prevent any possibility of'the top leaving the holder before the latter has ceased to rotate.

In the modification of Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 I have illustrated a device in which the cord which is pulled to rotate the holder is automatically returned'by means of a spring drum. The device of this modificaiton comprises a top 32 similar to the top 10, a rotatable holder '33, a yoke or frame 34, a spring drum 35, and a casing for said drum 36. The top 32 has a pin '37 extending through the spindle and engaging notches 38 in the holder or driving member 33. The spindle of the top extends through an axial recess in the holder 11. The holder is provided with collars or flanges 40 and 41 for a purpose to hereinafter appear.

The frame 34is provided with an ofl-set yoke portion 42 having openings 43 and,44 therein through which the holder 33 extends. The frame 34 is provided with openings 45 and 46 through which extends a screw 47 on which the drum'35 is rotatably mounted. A'coiled spring 48 surrounding the drum 35 has one end 49 secured to said drum, its other end 50 extending into a notch 51 in the frame 34, as shown in Fig.

' 6. A cord 52 having one end secured in an opening 53 in the drum 35 is wound around said drum and extends through an opening 54 in the side of the casing 36, and is wrapped several times around the holder 33 and extends through 'an' eyelet 55 in the frame 34. Lips 55 are struck up from the.

casing 36 above and below the opening 54. The casing 36 is provided with notches 56 and 57 at its upper and lower ends respectively in which the ends of the frame 34 engage. The ends of the casing'36 extend somewhat beyond the frame 34 and fitting in the upper and lower ends of the casing are centering washers 58 and 59 having openings 60 and 61 through which the screw 47 extends for the purpose of holding the casing in place with respect to the drum. The lower washer 59 is provided with a notch 62 ,to accommodate the end 50 of the 2 spring. The casing 36 is provided with a slot 63 extending from the opening 54 upwardly to the notch 56 for a-purpose to appear hereinafterw V The operation of this modification is as follows: a

The top 32 is placed in. position in the holder 33, the casing 36 is grasped with one hand. and the cord 52 is given a ouick pull causing the holder 33 and top 32 to rotate rapidly. When the cord is all unwound from the drum 35 the holder comes to a stop and the top flies out, rises in the air, descends and spins. The purpose of the lips 55 is to prevent, the fingers of the operator from coming in contact with the cord 52 when the cord is being wound and unwound. After the top leaves the holder he pull on the cord 52 is-relaxed and the spring 48 rotates the drum 35 to rewind leeches? out of the notch 51 in the frame 34.r The drum together with the spring 48 may then be removed through the upper end of the casing 36, the cord 52 sliding upward in the slot 63 to permit the withdrawal of the drum.

In the modification of Fig. 10 the holder 64 comprises a cup shaped portion 65 and 'a' sleeve 66 rotatably mounted in the bent over ends 67 and 68 of the frame 69. Secured to the lower end of the sleeve 66 in any suitable manner is 'a'collar 76 having upwardly bent pins 71 secured thereto. Secured to the lower part of the frame 69 is a circular member 72 having downwardly bent pins 73 secured thereto. An endless elastic band 74 is laced in zig-zag'fashion around the pins. 71 and 73; a cord 75 is wound several times around the sleeve'66 and has one end secured thereto.

The'operation of the device of this modification is as follows:

The top is placed in position in the holder,

the frame 69 is grasped with one hand and the cord 75 is given a quick pull causing the holder to rotate rapidly and causing the strands of the endless band 74 to be twisted together. When the cord is .all unwound from the sleeve the holder comes to a stop and the top flies out of the holder. The pull on the cord 7 5 is then relaxed and the tension on the endless band 74 causes it to untwist rotating the holder 66 and rewinding the cord 75 on the sleeve.

It is to be noted that in all of the modifications the top is mounted in a rotatable holder and that it is free to leave the holder when the holder ceases to rotate, and it is to be noted that in the modifications of Figs. 6 to 10 that means are provided for restorin the manually operated means to their original position after they are manually operated. It is to lee-noted also that the flange 21 on the rotor or propeller 14 has several functions. It prevents the; hand of the operator from coming in contact with Having thus described my invention what I I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is A device of the class described comprising a rotatable member, means for rotating said member including an elongated flexible member manually moved in one direction engaging said rotatable member, and a combined handle and support for said rotatable member comprisingl a single integral piece of sheet material aving two spaced portions extending transversely of the axis of said rotatable member and having alined apertures to receive said rotatable member,

a portion connecting said spaced portions In witness whereof, I have hereunto sub- On one side Of said axis and substantially scribed my name in the presence of two witparallel thereto, and a hand engag ng pornesses. cal tion extending from one of said spaced por- REUBEN B. BENJAWN.

' tions substantially parallel to the axis Of Witnesses:

said rotatable member on the other side of W. L. POLLABD, said axis. ANNE SOLOMON. 

